Hopefully everyone out there in TV land caught the debut of our favorite dog Newman on this weekend’s episode of 5 Ingredient Fix, and everyone understands why we’re so excited about our newest star. Our newest star Claire Robinson, of course! I’m happy to be the very first one to report that we’ve picked up the show for 13 more episodes of 5 Ingredient Fix! You heard it here first!

So now that it’s clear that everyone wants more Claire the big work begins – how does she go about developing her recipes? Well, every Food Network chef has their own way of working, but no matter what, every recipe has to be tested multiple times to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. Claire tests her recipes at least three times and usually more, which as you can imagine takes quite a bit of time.

Recipes should also get tested with different equipment – electric stoves and gas stoves, convection ovens and regular ovens, non-stick pans and regular pans – the list goes on and on. You just can’t test a recipe enough. It’s a good thing that all of Claire’s recipes require no more than five ingredients each, because that’s a lot of food!

So be sure to catch the current episodes airing on Saturday mornings at 9:30 AM, and check back here to find out when the next batch of episodes will come along.

You know a recipe is going to be a hit when the crew is inching towards the kitchen island, waiting for the director to yell “cut!”, prepared to lunge forth and get a bite as quickly as possible. You also know it’s going to be a hit when the crew then goes home for the weekend and comes back to set on Monday saying that they all cooked it at home. This is the most talked about, most eaten, most craved, and probably most crew-cooked recipe of the whole run of our newest show 5 Ingredient Fix, featuring our newest star Claire Robinson. Luckily for all of you, that very recipe will appear on this Saturday’s episode “Rise and Shine”, April 18 at 9:30 AM ET/PT.

For some reason I never do, but I’m going to start now that I’ve seen how fun and cute an apron can be. Claire Robinson has shown me the way on her new show 5 Ingredient Fix, which premieres this Saturday, April 4 at 9:30 AM. It may look like she’s wearing a cute skirt, but look again, they’re aprons. Super adorable aprons! The sassy aprons are designed by Claire herself and are made of a wide variety of vintage and modern materials. The rack of aprons on set were often the topic of conversation, as many of us just couldn’t decide which one we loved best.

They were all too cute, all different, and we all had apron envy. So much so that Beth Burke, Director of Programming, showed up on set in her own vintage apron! Trying to steal the show Beth?

He may not be your idea of a Food Network star, but I can bet that when he makes his debut alongside his human companion, Claire Robinson, on the new series 5 Ingredient Fix, he will be taking the food world by storm. Ladies and gentleman, introducing…Newman the Wonder Dog!!!

This little French bulldog is the special guest for a French-inspired meal on Claire’s upcoming new series, which focuses on recipes that require only 5 ingredients or fewer. Check back here on The FN Dish, March 30, for a sneak peek at Claire and the new show, then tune in starting Saturday, April 4 at 9:30am/8:30c for the premiere….If you listen closely you might even hear some doggie snoring in the background!

If you’re a loyal viewer of one of our longest running series – Unwrapped – you might have noticed recently that we finally let our esteemed host Marc Summers out of that diner. No longer is he cooped up in a set diner- his Unwrapped scenes are now being shot all around town!

You can see the excitement in his face as he is simply thrilled to be out and about and interacting with the real world. (Don’t you know, we had him locked up all these years!) Shooting in the field with Marc also reminds us just how big a celebrity he is, as people of all ages – toddlers to seniors – were jumping for a chance to meet him. Whether it was from Double Dare, or What Would You Do?, or from his many years on Food Network, people everywhere are all smiles to see him. I was lucky enough to tag along recently when Unwrapped was shooting at locations around New York City. I was so impressed to find that Marc was the epitome of graciousness, taking time from his long, tiring day to talk to every one of those fans, sign autographs, snap photos, and give a bunch of viewers a memorable day in New York City.

Here’s a little tip for any viewers out there that might someday have an opportunity to screen test for the Food Network: Pick a demo recipe that includes corn nuts as one of the ingredients. Today, we were all huddled in Studio B for talent tests, freezing and hungry, and running behind schedule.

As luck would have it, our test subject whipped up a delicious salad topped with those crunchy golden nuggets of corn goodness. And I discovered that no one can resist corn nuts! The extra tub of corn nuts that we wouldn’t need for the shoot was gone within minutes, as everyone tried their best to crunch quietly in the background. Ah, corn nuts, the ultimate in studio mood elevators.

There is a wind tunnel right outside the Food Network offices. In the dead of winter, the dedicated employees here fight a raging vortex of frigid winds just to cross 9th Avenue to make it to work. It’s especially fun when it’s 16 degrees out, as it was this morning. 16F.

The people populating your typical set for a Food Network show generally wouldn’t be winning a lot of fashion awards. The crew has a lot of running around to do, and let’s be honest, we didn’t get into this line of work to wear suits and skirts every day. But one notable exception to this rule could be found on the set of Ask Aida Season 2: Executive Producer Irene Wong. It doesn’t matter that the set is an obstacle course of fat cables, Irene will be wearing heels. Tall heels. I rarely seen her in pants, let alone jeans. Fabulous dresses, killer boots, hair perfectly in place. In short, Irene brings the style and puts the rest of us to shame (she’s the Susie Fogelson of the set).

As an example contrast this pic of Irene on set (pic on the left) with with a shot of a more typical wardrobe choice (pic on the right)…

Personally, I think the sneaker selections of Executive Producer Bob Larson and myself are pretty sharp and certainly practical, but I think Irene made us all feel pretty slobby that day.

If you’ve ever tried to talk to camera while wielding a large chef’s knife, you’d know that it’s easy to mistake your finger for a piece of produce. You might also know that thumb wounds seem to bleed disproportionately to the severity of the cut. At least we found that out on set at Ask Aida, Season 2.

It was Shoot Day One and all was going as smoothly as ever, until poor Aida missed the preserved lemon and got her thumb instead. Ever the trooper, she wanted to patch and get back into action, but her thumb was not cooperating. I immediately thought of liquid bandage, but it turns out that stuff doesn’t work well on cuts that are still bleeding. The first aid kit had clotting spray, but that failed as well.

Producer Matt applied pressure, but all that did was make it hurt even worse. It wasn’t until a crew member suggested a wet tea bag that we found our solution. Who knew? Apparently the tannic acid in tea is a natural coagulant. It’s a common remedy after getting wisdom teeth pulled or for problematic cuts on pets. For all that we know about food, our ‘food as first aid‘ knowledge is pretty light! Learn something new every day — particularly on set.